Wiggy

Yes the insurance Honda offered us was one of the leading companies. The difference is that in an accident, you deal with Honda directly, they fix the car 'in house' etc. Thats a big plus if you ever need a major accident repair.

We were offered some extras and either a discount or a years 1st class worth 20k. I took the insurance as the wife is accident prone /my first Thai policy.

All good advice. Thanks everyone. Will hopefully put a deposit on an RS in June/July for collection in August as I'll be away for most of July and I'll be sure to try to get the extras plus insurance. Would much rather have Honda doing the repairs than some 'bodgit and scarper' merchant. Probably more chance of getting a colour match as well.

Can only go by my wife's family's experience with Honda. Four purchased and no real issues. Using their insurance is great too, all in house repairs and courtesy car etc

Hi Cook. Can you elaborate on Honda's own insurance? I was thinking that if it's not free then I'd stay with my current insurer to retain the no claims. But if Honda cover in-house repairs and a courtesy car that would be a better deal. Thanks for any info.

I believe Honda doesn't have it's own insurance but works as a broker. From Honda website:

Another service is car insurance with Honda Automobile Insurance Brokers Co., Ltd. that offers great coverage from many of the leading insurance companies.

I did get my insurance through Honda and it was for Viriyah Insurance which I found excellent.

Thanks, Tywais.

10k worth it in Pearl i would get Black but both our last cars were black so good for a change.

Was thinking about glass coating.

Bit expensive though.

Still tempted to get the Rs will have to check how much it would cost over 4 years

Will go and order one of the 1.5 versions tomorrow

I can only go by my experience with my current Focus. I didn't order the Titanium+ as I didn't want a sunroof, but I've been kind of feeling that I'm missing out on something by not having the full options. This is one reason I'm going for the Civic RS. If you can afford it, do it, I would say. BTW, there's a good write-up on the RS in one of today's English language newspapers. I reckon the RS would be about an additional 2,200 baht per month over 4 years on the non-RS (this is including the 2.09% interest rate quoted to me by Honda).

Can only go by my wife's family's experience with Honda. Four purchased and no real issues. Using their insurance is great too, all in house repairs and courtesy car etc

Hi Cook. Can you elaborate on Honda's own insurance? I was thinking that if it's not free then I'd stay with my current insurer to retain the no claims. But if Honda cover in-house repairs and a courtesy car that would be a better deal. Thanks for any info.

That's good to know, Cook, thanks. I also noticed that insurance of 28,000 is added onto the price of the car on the price list (the one with the finance terms). This indicates that insurance is not free for the first year. Can that be right?

I think Honda doesn't give out 1st year insurance. I didn't get it when I purchased my City ... I remember reading about this on the 'net that Honda doesn't give out 1st year insurance like many others.

That's a bit of a bummer. I assumed it was kind of a given here. This will be my first Honda though, so I didn't know that.

Don't worry. You'll be back to Ford for your next car. [emoji3]

You never know, JTB. Could be. Tried Toyota - boring, Ford - I like my Focus. It's just lacking something, although great to drive. Civic RS seems somehow more exciting. Time will tell.

That's good to know, Cook, thanks. I also noticed that insurance of 28,000 is added onto the price of the car on the price list (the one with the finance terms). This indicates that insurance is not free for the first year. Can that be right?

I think Honda doesn't give out 1st year insurance. I didn't get it when I purchased my City ... I remember reading about this on the 'net that Honda doesn't give out 1st year insurance like many others.

That's a bit of a bummer. I assumed it was kind of a given here. This will be my first Honda though, so I didn't know that.

It's worth bargaining for the extras. Honda are doing a posher window film on request, much better than the cheap one they include. Try and get the upgraded one thrown in. And the new civic modulo wheels look really nice too.

That's good to know, Cook, thanks. I also noticed that insurance of 28,000 is added onto the price of the car on the price list (the one with the finance terms). This indicates that insurance is not free for the first year. Can that be right?

Well thanks for all your views i am ordering the 1.5 version (not rs) in pearlesent white

Not sure how much extra in the colour will cost maybe 30k?

Going to leave a deposit Monday and told they can deliver by friday 20th earlier if i take standard white

More excited than the wife and its her car hahaha.

PS. Both their website and brochure say pearl white is an extra 10k.

Well thanks for all your views i am ordering the 1.5 version (not rs) in pearlesent white

Not sure how much extra in the colour will cost maybe 30k?

Going to leave a deposit Monday and told they can deliver by friday 20th earlier if i take standard white

More excited than the wife and its her car hahaha.

Congrats, Kwak250. I reckon it'll be a nice motor. Coincidentally I was at a showroom today looking at the turbo (both RS and standard). Like them both and can't decide. Agree a little with an earlier comment that the RS is a little OTT. But, I think the few little extras (mainly lane watch to look out for the motorcycles on the left hand side) will do it for me. I've definitely ruled out the 1.8 after seeing this thread so thanks for starting it. Have also now opted out of another Ford Focus since this Civic came out. Enjoy the car and please post to let us know how it drives. Cheers.

Bike: Honda MTX 125 in 1992 (great for the floods on lower Sukhumvit every time it rained)

Car: Ford Aspire in 2000 (Truly awful car - and with a heater! I was hoping it was aspiring to be a car one day)

• I've had pretty good service from Ford, but never owned a Honda in Thailand (one point Focus)

Five points each. I really can't decide!! Any advice? Thanks.

Interesting ... everything I've read about Ford customer service in Thailand points to lackluster customer service but your personal experience is different. Are you in BKK?

I have boring Honda City but can't attest to Honda service as my Thai friend take care of all that for me since I don't live in Thailand and drive only about once a month when I'm in town. But I thought Honda had better "reputation" for customer service. I had no problem getting English manual for the car right after the car purchase and I think she's generally happy with maintenance on the car. Just over 1+ year owning this car.

I am in Bangkok and I've had zero problems with Ford customer service. Agree though that we should get back to the OPs topic of Honda Civic 1.8 EL or 1.5 Turbo. I did start a thread before on Focus Ecoboost or Civic 1.5 Turbo, so perhaps we should move the Ford discussion there.

The Focus has conventional dials for odometer and rev counter, the Civic is all digital (one point, Civic)

The focus has both.. kind of. I'm not sure it's a better thing though.

The Focus would be better to drive (one point Focus)

And what does one actually do with a car?

Resale value (one point Civic)

Today, yes. But Thais are waking up to what Toyota and Honda really are - 'average'.

Still. Your money. Enjoy the pain of choosing the right one!

My bad - by better to drive I meant handling. My current Focus handles like it's on rails and is very stable. I agree that Thais are waking up to what Honda and Toyota are and I agree. The Toyota range in particular is the most uninspiring range of cars I've ever seen. Plain and boring. Not planning to change until August, so plenty of time to ponder. It might even come down to whether Ford offer me anything better as a loyalty thing.

My penny's worth:

The turbo would probably be more economical due to the smaller engine. However it won't run on E85. This maybe something to think about when oil prices rise. It's not a deal breaker for me, but might help resale value on the 1.8 when oil prices are higher. After all second-hand car buyers' budgets are likely to be restricted. The specifications are almost identical; the only differences I can see are the wheel size (16" on the 1.8, 17" on the Turbo), and rain-sensing wipers on the Turbo . My main concern is that which has already been mentioned - the 1.8 might feel under powered due to the ageing technology and being linked to a CVT gearbox. I test drove an HRV (same set-up as the Civic 1.8) and I felt it was lacking something. It wasn't exactly slow, but lacked 'oomph'. I'm looking to change from my 2013 2.0 Focus (great car, but need a change) and would like to have similar power, so will probably opt for a Turbo (not sure whether RS or not yet).

Are you also looking at the new Focus?

If not, why?

I am still thinking about it. The Civic is a nice package, but so is the Focus. Both have pros and cons. The biggest for me is the resale value of the Focus. I paid 959,000 for my 2013 2.0 Titanium saloon (sedan), and I'm about to get around 450- 500K on trade in, according to Red Book. If it were a Civic I'd probably be looking at 600-650K. That's a lot. Other considerations are:

• The Focus doesn't have LED lights (ridiculous), but the Civic RS does (one point, Civic)
• The Focus parks itself, although I think I can manage to do that (even)
• The Focus has conventional dials for odometer and rev counter, the Civic is all digital (one point, Civic)
• The Civic looks slightly nicer (one point, Civic)
• They both have Siri and Apple Play (even)
• Resale value (one point Civic)
• Civic has Lane Watch (one point Civic)
• The Focus has Active City Stop (one point Focus)
• The Civic doesn't have folding rear seats (one point Focus)
• The Civic has CVT, which I'm not a big fan of, whereas the Focus has reverted to a conventional auto, away from DCT (one point Focus)
• The Focus would be better to drive (one point Focus)
• I've had pretty good service from Ford, but never owned a Honda in Thailand (one point Focus)

Five points each. I really can't decide!! Any advice? Thanks.

Every year I rent a car from Europcar at LHR via one or other of the online comparison sites. I give my date of arrival and my date of departure. The arrival and departure times are the same, and I give those also.

I am instantly billed for an exact number of days at the time of booking and a voucher arrives by email seconds later. As I return the vehicle on time with a full tank I have never had anything extra to pay for anything, and the duration of the rental has never been disputed in any way.

I do take out my own excess insurance to cover the potential GBP800-1000 excess, though I have never had to claim on this.

Well worth it, I think I paid 46 GBP for worldwide cover for a year. covers everywhere apart from USA. I have claimed before, refunded in full.

Wel beats the 'stupid' 5-15 GBP they offer per day , now that really is a con, they push this very hard as they have become as much insurance sakesman, as car renters. Same with sat nav and child seats, all complete rip offs

I rent in the UK a couple of times a year. How do you go about getting the 46 GBP extra cover per year? I'd be very interested as I don't want to pay the extra they rip you off for at the car rental company to eliminate the excess (often double the price). Thanks.

Does the CVT of the civic have artificial shift points so it feels more like a regular auto? Or that only happens when using the paddle shifters? The few videos I's seen suggest it shifts more like a regular auto. There's nothing worse then the engine screaming at 5000rpm when you are trying to accelerate...slowly.

When I drove my friend's HRV I noticed a lack of gear changes until I used the paddle shift, when it behaved more like a conventional automatic. But on YouTube one particular HRV just screamed at 5,000rpm whilst accelerating, as you say. On the videos I saw the Civic behaved more 'normally' than the HRV, if that makes sense.

Thanks for all the replies.

I have now convinced myself to wait for the 1.5 turbo.

I dont think i will get the RS just the standard turbo as i really only like the spoiler and paddle shifts.

They have twin exhausts but actually are hidden from view and under the car but i am sure they can be altered.

I recently looked at a silver civic with red plates and a spoiler .

This might have been the new turbo version.

I have seen people saying they want the Rs version but want to take the spoiler off ?

Good points about the 1.5 turbo being more effecient and a much better engine.

I did not realise the 1.8 engine was old .

Right off to report to the wife that the 1.5 engine is way more efficient and much safer to overtake .

What about

- LED lights

- Fog lights

- Sport pedals

- Paddle shifters

- Lane watch

- Rain sensor (!)

- Electric adjustable front seats

?

What about

- LED lights Ah yes they would be nice

- Fog lights Ah yes they would be nice

- Sport pedals Not so worried

- Paddle shifters Ah yes they would be nice

- Lane watch No point where i live

- Rain sensor (!) Still young enough to put the wipers on.

- Electric adjustable front seats Once set i dont move it.Havent moved the vigos fo years

Ok Led lights ,Spot lights, Paddle shifters ,Spoiler, RS Badge on the back

extra 100k is a lot though ...

Mmmm best have a couple of leos and have another think .

Was going to put maybe 500k down and pay the rest slowly over 4 years rather than pay the lot off as it wont hurt so bad then.

Looking at the figures over 48 months it wouldnt be much more for the R.S

Oh god i went from getting the wife to go for the 1.8 to the 1.8EL

Now convinced her just get the standard Turbo but looks like i might get the R.S version.

I should change the topic to "Honda civic 1.5 turbo or Rs Turbo"

I really dont worry about the fuel consumption but the wife is always concerned about that so i will tell here the paddle shifters are supposed to save fuel! oh and that spoiler will save so much drag.

Luvly jubly. You know it makes sense!

Thanks for all the replies.

I have now convinced myself to wait for the 1.5 turbo.

I dont think i will get the RS just the standard turbo as i really only like the spoiler and paddle shifts.

They have twin exhausts but actually are hidden from view and under the car but i am sure they can be altered.

I recently looked at a silver civic with red plates and a spoiler .

This might have been the new turbo version.

I have seen people saying they want the Rs version but want to take the spoiler off ?

Good points about the 1.5 turbo being more effecient and a much better engine.

I did not realise the 1.8 engine was old .

Right off to report to the wife that the 1.5 engine is way more efficient and much safer to overtake .

Good move. I'm also tempted by the turbo, as I mentioned. My main reason for the RS (if I do) is the LED lights - they look great. The lane watch feature could also be useful for spotting those pesky motorcycles buzzing about all over the place. A lot of extra dosh though over the standard turbo . Fuel consumption (mpg) for both according to the EPA is: (City/highway/combined) Civic: 31/42/35. HRV: 28/35/31.

Thanks. Good to know. I wonder why. Strange decision by Honda. I mean, how much can it cost to put them in? Not a massive problem for me, but would be good to have.

BMW does the same stupid mistake. Their 3-series never have folding rear seats. Its a strange decision which puts me off. I have a 116i hatchback, and can't tell you how many times i folded the rear seats to carry stuff.

I must say I didn't know that BMW did the same. It's such a strange decision. It must put a lot of people off....and for the sake of how many euros, pounds, baht, dollars? Weird.

Thanks. Good to know. I wonder why. Strange decision by Honda. I mean, how much can it cost to put them in? Not a massive problem for me, but would be good to have.

Yes no problem for us as well. We are usually only 2 people together with no much luggages and the trunk is quite deep anyway.

Our plan is usually to change car every 4 years which will turn in next January for our latest one but we might not wait that long as we are quite difficult when decide to choose a new car and we like this civic RS we might just go ahead with it.

The price announced for the RS turbo is 1.2 M while the HRV top model is 1.1 M.

Yes, that's what I was thinking. I like the HRV too, but just not enough response/power from the accelerator, and I often like to accelerate out of trouble, rather than brake. It was a friend's I test drove, but the Civic is really growing on me. I think you're getting a lot more car for just an extra 100K.

Difficult to say. As I said, i am not much about cars and not specialist at all. The last 2 cars we had was Toyota Yaris (not the latest one, the previous models). So when we tested the HRV, we found it very different to drive. We thought that it is because we are used to the Yaris but even me i am renting cars often for my job and found it different. Instead, when we tried the Civic, we adapted automatically, found it easy. Even my wife normally doesn't like Sedan car as she said she is worry that she can't see well the back especially for parking, she prefer short cars but she felt very comfortable driving the Civic even when she parked it in reverse. Don't get me wrong, i am not comparing the Civic with the Yaris. I used to have toyota altis, fortuner and even BMW serie 3. For our needs, Yaris is a good car and we had 2 in the row but when the latest model came out, we have been disapointed as the engine is 1.2 only. I drove one before for few month and you really feel the difference.

Here in Phuket, they said it will take 2 months from order to get a new RS turbo (white). But they have 2 available for test.

Thanks so much for the information, jphasia, it's much appreciated. I need to find one to test in Bangkok. Looking to change in July, so no hurry. Just one more question, if I may. Did you notice if the Civic had split/folding rear seats? I've heard the Thai version doesn't. Thanks.

Nope, they don't have split/folding rear seats. We checked that while there.

Thanks. Good to know. I wonder why. Strange decision by Honda. I mean, how much can it cost to put them in? Not a massive problem for me, but would be good to have.

Difficult to say. As I said, i am not much about cars and not specialist at all. The last 2 cars we had was Toyota Yaris (not the latest one, the previous models). So when we tested the HRV, we found it very different to drive. We thought that it is because we are used to the Yaris but even me i am renting cars often for my job and found it different. Instead, when we tried the Civic, we adapted automatically, found it easy. Even my wife normally doesn't like Sedan car as she said she is worry that she can't see well the back especially for parking, she prefer short cars but she felt very comfortable driving the Civic even when she parked it in reverse. Don't get me wrong, i am not comparing the Civic with the Yaris. I used to have toyota altis, fortuner and even BMW serie 3. For our needs, Yaris is a good car and we had 2 in the row but when the latest model came out, we have been disapointed as the engine is 1.2 only. I drove one before for few month and you really feel the difference.

Here in Phuket, they said it will take 2 months from order to get a new RS turbo (white). But they have 2 available for test.

Thanks so much for the information, jphasia, it's much appreciated. I need to find one to test in Bangkok. Looking to change in July, so no hurry. Just one more question, if I may. Did you notice if the Civic had split/folding rear seats? I've heard the Thai version doesn't. Thanks.

I just tested the Civic RS turbo yesterday. We are considering to change car with my wife this year and we were considering the HRV which we tested last month. We are not much about cars and not specialist at all. Mainly looking at the look first. But we saw the new civic on TV and as we passed in front of Honda yesterday, we decided to have a look. We are basically only 2 persons and mainly driving around Phuket with some longer trips sometime. We feel the New civic RS turbo nice, comfortable, and good to drive. We are not looking for high speed but to have good power to respond in case. We didn't test the 1.8 as i believe it is the same engine as the HRV.

At the end, we still like the look of the HRV but we felt more comfortable driving the Civic RS Turbo

What do you feel was the best thing about the Civic over the HRV? I've been trying to secure a test drive in the RS (in Bangkok), but nobody will allow it and I've tried four dealers already

My penny's worth:

The turbo would probably be more economical due to the smaller engine. However it won't run on E85. This maybe something to think about when oil prices rise. It's not a deal breaker for me, but might help resale value on the 1.8 when oil prices are higher. After all second-hand car buyers' budgets are likely to be restricted. The specifications are almost identical; the only differences I can see are the wheel size (16" on the 1.8, 17" on the Turbo), and rain-sensing wipers on the Turbo . My main concern is that which has already been mentioned - the 1.8 might feel under powered due to the ageing technology and being linked to a CVT gearbox. I test drove an HRV (same set-up as the Civic 1.8) and I felt it was lacking something. It wasn't exactly slow, but lacked 'oomph'. I'm looking to change from my 2013 2.0 Focus (great car, but need a change) and would like to have similar power, so will probably opt for a Turbo (not sure whether RS or not yet).

Are these the same billboards that were "reined in" 5 years ago? Or 10 years ago? or those of 15 years ago? Rubbish. It's just City Hall pretending they're doing something. Unfortunately many still believe what officials/politicians say.

Coincidentally I'm paying mine off today with Tisco Bank. They said I'd have the blue book in two weeks' time and with a 1,210 baht transfer fee.